Collaborative Research: RAPID: Assessing Lithium-Battery Fire Impacts on Soil, Groundwater, and Estuarine Water and Sediments in Coastal California

The increased use of lithium-ion batteries has increased the risk of large-scale battery fires in storage facilities. Recently, a fire occurred at a lithium-ion battery storage facility in coastal California, damaging more than half of the facility's batteries. This fire may have released metals and fluorinated chemicals into the environment. This project will conduct rapid-response field sampling of soil, sediment and shallow groundwater to assess the presence of contaminants. The project will help to implement remediation activities to reduce effects of the fire. The project will train doctoral and undergraduate students in field environmental chemistry and advanced analytical techniques. This research will inform for future national safety policy on storage facilities for lithium-ion batteries.

This research will quantify per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, including novel lithium-battery-associated fluorinated compounds, as well as metals and metalloids in soils, sediments, estuarine waters, and shallow groundwater that may have affected by the recent lithium-ion battery storage facility fire in the Central Coast of California. The research team hypothesizes that differential per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance transport based on perfluoroalkyl chain-length will be modulated by salinity gradients, tidal dynamics, and bank filtration processes characteristic of the Elkhorn Slough coastal system. Approximately 50 primary sampling locations have been identified within 15 kilometers of the fire site to measure contaminant distributions prior to hydrologic redistribution following precipitation. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances will be quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry standard methods (United States Environmental Protection Agency Method 1633) and nontargeted approaches. Metals and metalloids will be analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-based techniques. Spatial distributions will be mapped using geographic information systems and interpreted in relation to soil properties, groundwater gradients, and estuarine salinity regimes. This research will generate the first field-based dataset characterizing early-stage fate and transport of lithium-ion battery contaminants due to fire in a coastal setting. The research will also provide scientific evidence for exposure assessment, emergency response planning, and long-term remediation strategies.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Award Number: 2619070
Principal Investigator: Christopher Olivares Martinez
Funds Obligated: $80,210
State: CA